


Violet

by alfredo (AllAboard)



Category: EXO (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, M/M, Magical Realism, Sexual Content, but it's just a small part of the fic really, i'll add the tags when i post the chapters, idk if i should tag the details about the smut tbh
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-10-22
Updated: 2015-10-22
Packaged: 2018-04-27 15:35:57
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,672
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5054260
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AllAboard/pseuds/alfredo
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Baekhyun is an art major who sees people in colors. Chanyeol is a philosophy student who happens to be the brightest person Baekhyun has ever met.</p><p>[Update: DISCONTINUED.]</p>
            </blockquote>





	Violet

**Author's Note:**

> I want to thank everyone who gave this fic kudos, bookmarks, and reviews. I really do appreciate it. Unfortunately, as of right now I am no longer as interested in kpop as I was last year, and so I can't get past the writer's block that I've been stuck in since first posting this. I really did have big plans for this fic and hoped to get it all written and posted, but it doesn't look like that's going to happen anytime soon. Maybe one day I'll get back into the groove of things, but as of right now, this is it for Violet. Once again, thank you for all the love you've shown for this fic.

Baekhyun has always known colors. Every possible shade of blue and red, every possible intensity of yellow and orange—they've always been present. Surrounding every person, he can see it; his mother, soft-spoken and kind, is a lovely shade of light pink. Do Kyungsoo, his roommate and closest friend, is a vibrant red, his kind personality sometimes clashing with his habit to be firm and stoic in certain situations. His art professor is a rather ordinary blue, like the middle shade of a clear sky; though somewhat unique in that Baekhyun hasn't met very many people who radiate that shade, the color itself is nothing special and his professor is a particularly ordinary person.

The colors are a part of everyday life for Baekhyun. He's never seen them as an annoyance; in fact, they're part of the reason why he decided to pursue art as his major. He is never short of ideas on what to paint or color—simply glancing out the window in his dorm could bring inspiration to him in the form of someone walking by. He likes to observe people; likes to study their colors and watch as the intensity of it changes when they smile or frown or just react to anything in general. It's fascinating to him, and he actually enjoys the challenge of attempting to transfer what he sees onto a canvas.

Despite having lived with the colors for twenty-two years, he still is unsure what they mean. Obviously he's put together the general meanings of each color—blues are for calmer personalities, though darker shades tend to mean the person is colder or more reserved; reds symbolize kindness that extends beyond typical politeness; oranges are usually for the more brash people, but Baekhyun hasn't met very many oranges so he isn't entirely sure if he has the meaning correct; and finally, yellows radiate from the carefree, positive people. He knows that sometimes the colors are wrong—he has met reds who could hardly be considered nice beyond the formalities that are drilled into them as children as a means to ensure they respect others, and he has met hot-headed blues—and sometimes a person's color can change. But altogether, he has yet to memorize what each color specifically means, even after the dozen or so times that his mother has explained them to him. The meanings just never stick with him, and by the end of the day he is once again clueless as to why certain people radiate their color.

Sometimes the colors are distracting, admittedly. When there is a crowd of people, the colors all smear together in Baekhyun's eyes, making it difficult to tell which colors belong to which person. Parties are particularly bad, because most people are excited or happy, or at least something akin to happy, so the colors brighten, leaving Baekhyun's head throbbing and his attention wandering all over the place as the colors are too distracting for him at those times. He tends to avoid anywhere that may have a crowd of people—he rarely eats out, he prefers to sit in the front of a classroom so there aren't as many people in front of him, and he's only gone to a handful of parties in the past and never stayed for longer than a few minutes.

The colors can be helpful, however. Since the color a person radiates brightens when they are happy or excited, Baekhyun can always tell when someone is about to tell him something that brightened their day; when the color is a darker shade, he can always tell when someone is feeling angry or sad, and he can offer to be a shoulder to cry on or just an ear to listen to whatever problems they're having before anyone else is even aware that they're upset.

Kyungsoo is radiating a bright red when he steps into their dorm room, bright enough that Baekhyun can see the glow of it before he even looks up from his art history book. Kyungsoo has his back turned towards him as he closes the door but Baekhyun doesn't need to see his face to know he's smiling, and the eager way he tosses his backpack onto his bed when he turns around is an obvious sign that he's excited about something. His eyes are fixed on Baekhyun, hesitant behind the positive nerves running through his body.

Baekhyun peers over the edge of his book, meeting his eyes. "What's got you so anxious?"

Kyungsoo lets out a small, strangled noise of excitement as he shrugs off his jacket. "You and I are invited to a party tonight," he says. His hands are fidgety and Baekhyun almost forgets that Kyungsoo is rarely invited to anything.

"That's great, have fun," Baekhyun says, lowering his eyes to his book once more.

"Did you even listen to me? I said _you and I_. As in both of us," Kyungsoo says. He moves his backpack off his bed and flops down on it on his back.

Baekhyun glances over at him. He's still glowing bright red. "I don't like parties, you know that."

"This one shouldn't be that bad," Kyungsoo says, just a hint of desperation in his voice. "I don't think very many people were invited."

"That's what you said last time," Baekhyun reminds him. The last party Kyungsoo had managed to drag him to had been _huge_ with too many people and way too many colors for Baekhyun to handle being around for more than five minutes.

"Well, you could always hang out in one of the less occupied rooms, or outside or something," Kyungsoo suggest lamely. "Come on, Baekhyun, please?"

"I have to study, sorry. Why don't you ask Junmyeon to go with you?"

Baekhyun is expecting it when Kyungsoo scoffs. "Are you kidding me? You have to be kidding," he says. "He'd never say yes."

"And you think I will?"

"Well, yeah. Power of persuasion." Kyungsoo laughs when Baekhyun shakes his head at him. "But seriously, Baekhyun, please? They invited you, too. They want you to come."

"Who is 'they', exactly?"

Kyungsoo doesn't say anything for a moment, but Baekhyun isn't surprised when he blurts out, "Jongin," fast enough that he really only catches the first syllable of the name. However, hearing the name explains why Kyungsoo was so excited and so bright when he came into the room, but Baekhyun's still suspicious.

"He invited _both_ of us?" he asks. "He doesn't even know me." He turns to look at Kyungsoo fully now and doesn't miss the way he rolls his eyes at him again.

"Do you always have to be like this?" Kyungsoo continues before he can respond: "Okay, if you want to know the truth he told me to bring a friend so I said I'd bring you and he said that was fine." He looks at Baekhyun, a pleading look on his face, and whines when Baekhyun looks back down at his book. "Come on, Baek! Please!"

"You could just go alone. It's not like they'd notice anyway."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Dude, you _always_ leave me when we go to parties together," Baekhyun huffs. "I have to spend an extra ten minutes just trying to find you when I want to leave."

Kyungsoo opens his mouth to argue but nothing comes out. Baekhyun isn't lying, after all. After several moments of silence he finally manages, "please," one more time, pitiful and so pathetic it almost makes Baekhyun coo at him. Instead, he sighs.

" _Fine_ ," he says, exaggerating the annoyance in his tone. "But as soon as I want to leave, I'm leaving. Without you."

Kyungsoo positively beams at him, a string of _thank you thank you thank you_ spilling from his mouth so fast Baekhyun can hardly understand him, the syllables all jumbled together. He starts to ramble on about how great it will be— _'you're gonna have so much fun, trust me, it'll be great'—_ and Baekhyun tunes him out so he can go back to studying.

* * *

 

Parties _really_ aren't Baekhyun's thing. They haven't even stepped into the house yet and he already regrets letting Kyungsoo talk him into coming. The music is unsurprisingly loud, and when the door is opened by someone who seems to recognize Kyungsoo, Baekhyun looks past his shoulders and sees all the blindingly bright colors mixed together inside.

Bad idea. Really, really, _really_ bad idea.

"Glad you could make it, hyung!" the guy at the door says. He has a lazy grin and hooded eyes taking in Kyungsoo and Baekhyun's appearances with a slightly amused look. He's glowing orange. Baekhyun can't remember what that means. "You must be Baekhyun, right? Great. Come on in, enjoy yourselves." He steps aside to let them enter, and Baekhyun is expecting this guy to introduce himself but he doesn't, and judging by the completely smitten look on Kyungsoo's face he figures it's safe to assume that this guy is Jongin.

Kyungsoo throws an arm around Baekhyun's shoulders as they make their way through the crowd of people. "How do you feel?" he asks. He has to yell over the music in order to be heard even with his mouth pressed almost right against Baekhyun's ear.

"This is more than a few people," Baekhyun yells back accusingly. He keeps his eyes on the floor to avoid seeing all the colors but they're too bright and he can see everything out of his peripheral anyway. "I want to go to back to the dorm."

"We just got here, come on," Kyungsoo says. He's led them into the kitchen where all the beer is and hands Baekhyun a can. He's glowing even brighter than he had been back at the dorm. "Stay just a little while. Just a little bit. Please?"

Baekhyun _really_ does want to go back. His head is throbbing already and he can't let go of his inhibitions even if he wanted to because all of the colors are too distracting. He looks up to meet Kyungsoo's ridiculously hopeful expression, and the blinding red that surrounds him. He can't stand to look too long, and he can't stand the thought of ruining Kyungsoo's night either, so he looks down at the unopened can in his hand and sighs.

"Fine. _But_ ," he says when Kyungsoo makes to sling an arm around his shoulders again, "when I'm ready to leave I'm leaving, with or without you."

"Yeah, yeah, okay, you said that already," Kyungsoo says dismissively. They both know it's a lie, anyway. "So, I'm gonna go mingle—"

"Seriously?" Baekhyun rolls his eyes. _Of course._ "Whatever, go. I'll… walk around." He pushes past Kyungsoo, setting the unopened can of beer down on the kitchen counter, and starts to make his way through the crowd of people as best he can with his head lowered. The colors are ridiculously bright, but the group he's currently trying to get through seems to be made of mostly blues, which never shine quite as blindingly as reds or yellows, so it's a little bit more bearable for him.

He doesn't know his way around the house but he climbs the stairs anyway and checks inside each room and is surprised when he finds one that's empty, that conveniently also has a patio. He feels kind of jealous for a split second that the frat boys get the big fancy house like this, but it passes almost as soon as it comes, and he opens the sliding glass door and steps out onto the deck. The stars are bright in the sky when he looks up and the air is cool, and even though the music from the party is still booming and loud it feels more peaceful out here.

He lets his thoughts wander as he sits on one of the cushioned patio chairs that are situated so he's looking through the railing of the balcony. The view is nothing special—just overlooking the campus, but it's still better than the view of his own dorm room.

He's so caught up in his thoughts that he doesn't hear the door to the balcony slide open and closed again or the footsteps of someone else approaching him, and the sudden presence of another person shocks him enough to make him jump. He's only snapped out of his daydream when the chair beside him shifts and suddenly a guy is lowering himself down into it somewhat awkwardly.

"Oh, sorry," the stranger says, holding a hand up in some sort of fake surrender. "Didn't mean to scare you. I, uh, thought you heard me."

"I didn't," Baekhyun says. "I was pretty spaced out, to be honest."

"Not having any fun?"

Baekhyun shrugs. "It's all right," he says dismissively.

The guy just nods his head and takes a sip from the red cup in his hand. He swallows noisily before flashing Baekhyun a smile, wide and full of teeth. "I'm Chanyeol," he says. "I hope it's okay with you if I sit out here, too. I can be quiet if you want."

"Oh, sure, yeah, I don't mind," Baekhyun says. "I'm Baekhyun, by the way."

The guy, Chanyeol, says his name, like he's testing it out, and then smiles again. Baekhyun wonders if he ever stops smiling. "Nice to meet you, Baekhyun."

"Likewise."

They fall silent after that, both of them looking up at the sky. Baekhyun starts counting the stars and leaves Chanyeol to do whatever he's going to do. It's nice, in all honesty; there's the quietness of being alone (minus the booming music) but without the loneliness of actually _being alone._ Chanyeol takes quiet drinks from the cup in his hand and Baekhyun continues to stare at the sky, zoning out almost completely until Chanyeol suddenly speaks up.

"Is it too loud in there for you, too?" His voice is deep and kind of loud even though the music is only somewhat muffled and they're the only two on the balcony.

"Uh, yeah, I guess," Baekhyun answers. "Parties aren't really my thing anyway, though."

Chanyeol turns his head to look at him, an amused grin tugging on the corners of his lips. "You don't like parties yet you come to the biggest one of the year?" His brows furrow almost immediately after he says it. "Sorry, that sounded… rude, I guess. I meant—"

Baekhyun breathes out a laugh. "It's fine," he says. "Actually I was dragged out here by my roommate. He knows the guy who's throwing this, I guess. Uh… Jongin…?"

"Oh, right," Chanyeol says with a nod. "I see. Well, are you at least enjoying yourself? I mean," he rushes to correct himself, " _were_ you having fun, before you came out here?"

Baekhyun shrugs. "I've spent the majority of the time out here," he says. He feels lame. He _is_ lame.

Chanyeol nods again. "If it makes you feel any better," he says, "if you weren't here I'd be here by myself, too." He's smiling again, just a little, and Baekhyun takes a moment to study his color. He's a bright yellow— _bright_ , like he's excited about something. Maybe he is—Baekhyun doesn't know him. It's a nice color, though. He can appreciate that.

"Good thing I'm here then." Baekhyun wants to cringe at how awkward he is, but what he said makes Chanyeol chuckle, face broken in a wide grin.

"Yeah," Chanyeol says, looking at Baekhyun fully now. He appears to study him for a few moments and then turns his head to look back up at the sky. "There usually isn't this many people," he says. "This is big even for a frat party."

"Just my luck then, huh?" Baekhyun says sarcastically.

Chanyeol looks back at him and tilts his head a little. He smiles when Baekhyun looks at him, a small dimple forming in one of his cheeks. "So, tell me a little bit about yourself," he says casually.

"Excuse me?"

"You know. What's your major? Are you from Seoul? Do you have a dog? Do you have eight toes?"

" _What_?" Baekhyun laughs. "No, I don't have eight toes."

Chanyeol's still smiling. "Come on," he says encouragingly. "Tell me something interesting about yourself."

Baekhyun feels a little flustered as he thinks for a moment. He's not very interesting, if you ask him. He's very average. Ordinary, plain, boring, dull… Every unexciting adjective fits Baekhyun. "Uh, I'm an art major," he says after a moment.

"Oh, really?" Chanyeol says, like that's an interesting fact. "Do you go to the University of Seoul for that, or are you at the arts institute?"

"The arts institute," Baekhyun says. He hums as he thinks again. "I'm originally from Bucheon. I don't have any pets since I live in the dorm, but I do like animals. I have the normal ten toes and—" he holds up his hands and wiggles his fingers, "ten fingers."

Chanyeol grins, cheek dimpling again. "Cheeky," he says. "Tell me something _interesting_ , though."

"I'm not very interesting," Baekhyun says with a shrug. "I'm plain and unexciting."

"I don't believe that," Chanyeol says. "You're an art major so you must be creative. Do you paint, draw, sculpt…?"

"I paint," Baekhyun interrupts him. "Abstract paintings are easy, but I prefer portraits with… a little extra something that makes them unique."

"What do you mean?"

Baekhyun thinks for a moment. "I like to add colors to my portraits. Kinda… I guess like the person's aura. I like to pick colors that I think fit each person that I paint, and I use it in some way in my paintings. It's kind of hard to explain, I guess," he says with an awkward, self-conscious laugh.

"That's actually really interesting," Chanyeol says. "How do you decide which colors to use on which people?"

Baekhyun has to think again. He can't just tell Chanyeol the truth—that he sees colors—because that's absurd and he's only just met the guy and he really doesn't need to make his first impression as a lame _lunatic_. "I just choose a color that compliments the person," he settles on saying. "Like I said, it's hard to explain."

Chanyeol nods his head, accepting that. "Probably something only art majors would understand, right?" he teases lightly.

"I guess. Why don't _you_ tell me about yourself now?"

Chanyeol smiles brightly, his color becoming a little brighter as well, like the thought of being able to talk about himself makes him happy or something. Maybe it does. "Well, I'm a philosophy major," he begins. "I'm twenty-two-years-old, I have a dog named Muffins, oh, and I was born and raised in Ulsan." He has an amused glint in his eyes, and Baekhyun rolls his own eyes at him.

"Ha, ha, very funny," he says. "Now tell me something _interesting_ about yourself," he says this in a teasingly mocking tone, repeating what Chanyeol said just a few minutes ago.

Chanyeol shakes his head, his grin growing just a little. "Something interesting about me," he says, mostly to himself. "You really expect the lame philosophy student to have something interesting to tell about himself?"

Before Baekhyun can answer, Chanyeol is continuing: "I like to make music." Baekhyun can hear the pride in his voice. "I love music. I've been playing the piano since I was seven, the guitar since I was twelve, and the drums since I was fourteen. I can beatbox, too, but I don't really like to do it in front of people, I guess. I like to sing and write songs. I like to _think_ I'm good at it," he says this sheepishly, "but I don't think I could handle being famous—being an idol, I mean."

Baekhyun hums in understanding. "Yeah, being an idol seems crazy."

"It does," Chanyeol agrees. "But I mean, I do like when people listen to my music. Especially when they like it."

"That's understandable," Baekhyun says. "You'll have to let me listen to something of yours sometime." He doesn't even realize what he's saying until he's said it, but when he looks at Chanyeol the other man is nodding his head, a smile still on his face.

"Sure," he says easily. "I'd like that. Maybe you'll let me see some of your paintings, too, huh?"

Baekhyun smiles back, just a little. "Sure," he says, mocking Chanyeol's tone again. "I'd like that."

The two spend a good while talking and getting to know each other. Chanyeol seems like a nice guy, a mixture of laid back and excited at the same time. When the conversation starts to die, Chanyeol is the one who thinks of something to say to keep it going, eyes bright as he babbles on about the things that interest him. Baekhyun has to look away a few times when his excitement makes his color brighten even more, but he finds that he really doesn't mind that Chanyeol's color is almost blinding. It's something that he's never really encountered before—he's met a few yellows, of course, his friend Luhan is a yellow, but none of them are as bright as Chanyeol. It's refreshing.

Eventually the conversation starts to _actually_ die, and Baekhyun can tell when Chanyeol's suggestions start coming at a slower pace that the other man is finally running out of things to say. When silence settles over the two of them, not quite uncomfortable but not pleasant either, Baekhyun decides to have a go at it.

He clears his throat awkwardly, making sure that he has Chanyeol's attention before speaking. "So, um, do you know anybody here? I—I mean, who did you come with? If you don't mind me asking." He has to hold back a cringe because Chanyeol is looking right at him.

"Ask whatever you want, I don't mind," Chanyeol says easily. "I'm an open kind of guy. I like to talk, if you didn't notice." He gives Baekhyun another small smile. "I came with a friend from the music department, Huang Zitao? I don't know if you know him…"

"I don't," Baekhyun shakes his head. "What's he like?"

Chanyeol hums, slouching down in his chair. "He's... different, I guess," he says. "Not bad, though. I was actually kind of surprised that he wanted to come out tonight. He's usually more introverted."

"Kind of like me?"

Chanyeol turns his head to make eye contact with Baekhyun, a lazy grin on his face. "Yeah," he says. "Kind of like you."

Baekhyun coughs again, looking away. "Um—"

"How do you feel about oversharing?" Chanyeol suddenly asks.

"What?"

"How do you feel about oversharing?" Chanyeol repeats the question. "Stepping over boundaries—or establishing them, depending on how you want to look at it."

"Well, what do you consider to be 'oversharing'?" Baekhyun feels awkward now.

"Hmm. How about we just start rattling off random… _intimate_ —" Chanyeol raises an eyebrow at him when Baekhyun looks at him—"facts about ourselves, and see how it goes?"

Baekhyun doesn't say anything for a moment. "Do you always tell people you've just met 'intimate' details about yourself?" he finally asks.

Chanyeol shrugs. "You don't have to if you don't want to," he says. "I just like to talk and get to know people."

Baekhyun fidgets with his hands, trying to shrug nonchalantly. "I mean, we can if you want to," he says. "You have to start, though."

"Okay. I'm not a big fan of one night stands."

Baekhyun blinks, staring at Chanyeol now. Chanyeol glances over at him and laughs self-consciously, sitting up a little straighter in his chair. "Is that surprising to you?" he asks.

"Well, I mean," Baekhyun struggles to say, "I mean, _no_ , I just—"

Chanyeol reaches over to place a hand on Baekhyun's elbow, his touch gentle. "Relax," he says, "I was just teasing you. Your turn."

Baekhyun opens and closes his mouth a few times like a fish out of water. "Um, I'm the same way. I prefer to know my partner and develop a connection with them before getting intimate with them."

Chanyeol nods. "I'm also not picky about the gender of the person," he says, making sure to maintain eye contact with Baekhyun as he says it.

Baekhyun doesn't even blink. "I prefer men, honestly," he says.

Chanyeol nods. "Glad we got that out of the way," he says, closing his eyes and leaning his head back.

Baekhyun isn't quite sure what he means by that, or why the subject was even brought up in the first place. He fidgets again, at a loss for what to say now.

"I'm sorry," Chanyeol suddenly blurts out. "I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable or anything."

"You didn't," Baekhyun says quickly. "I'm just… confused."

Chanyeol is the one to fidget this time, squirming in his chair. "I, um, I like to get that bit out of the way when I meet people? It tends to throw some people off so I like to let them know from the beginning that way if it's a problem with them or whatever then I can save myself from developing an attachment to them. It's easier to lose something before you get it than to lose it after it means something to you, you know?"

"I get that," Baekhyun says, and he means it. "I usually don't discuss that type of thing with anybody unless they ask, though. Being an introvert, I mean, I don't usually open up to very many people."

Chanyeol relaxes. "Ooh, so I'm special?" he teases. He doesn't sound cocky; the way he says it makes it sounds like they're already friends, like they've been friends for a while, and Baekhyun likes that.

"Sure, let's go with that," he teases back, lips tugging up into a grin.

It gets easier after that for them to talk. There's a comfortable atmosphere between them, and Baekhyun doesn't feel nervous to tease Chanyeol a few times. Chanyeol teases him back just as much, eyes mischievous and bright. The party is completely forgotten about and they lose track of time, conversing about anything that comes to mind now that some boundaries have been established.

Eventually Baekhyun notices that the party is starting to die down, seeing people stumble across the yard to their cars. Chanyeol notices, too, and makes a noise of disappointment.

"Looks like the party's almost over," he says. "I guess we should both go look for our friends, huh?"

Baekhyun nods but neither of them make a move to stand up. "It was nice to meet you," Baekhyun says, smiling at Chanyeol. "This was nice."

"I hope I kept you from being bored," Chanyeol says.

"I had fun, actually."

"I'm surprised nobody interrupted us." Chanyeol twists around to look at the sliding doors that open to the balcony.

"I'm glad no one did," Baekhyun says before he can convince himself not to. "I liked that it was just us."

Chanyeol looks at him for a very long moment. "Me too," he finally says. "Look, um, I hope we can stay in touch? I know we won't see each other on campus or anything but like, I'd like to get your number so we can—"

"Sure," Baekhyun interrupts his rambling with a smile. "Give me your phone."

Chanyeol does so without hesitation, unlocking his phone and pulling up a new contact before handing it over to Baekhyun. Baekhyun taps in his name and number, and then he passes it back to Chanyeol. The taller man hesitates before asking, "Can I take a picture of you? To make your contact—"

"Yeah." Baekhyun smiles widely, mouth forming a box full of straight white teeth. Chanyeol bites his bottom lip, trying and failing not to grin as he snaps the picture, and Baekhyun leans forward to look at it. Pleased with how it turned out, he gives Chanyeol the 'okay' to set it as his contact photo.

"Now let me see yours," Chanyeol says once he's put his phone back in his jeans pocket. He takes the phone when Baekhyun hands it over, and after he puts his own name and number in he opens the camera and takes a selfie, making a peace sign with one hand and bringing it up over one eye, tilting his head to the side just a little.

"Were you trying to be cute?" Baekhyun asks. The smile on his face looks almost fond now, and Chanyeol's cheeks turn a little pink.

"That's how I always take pictures," he says, rubbing at the back of his head with one hand. "I don't—I don't know why."

Baekhyun laughs a little, finally standing up from his chair. "Well, I will definitely keep in touch, Chanyeol," he says, smiling up at the taller man when he rises to his feet as well.

"And so will I, Baekhyun." Chanyeol picks up his empty cup from where he'd placed it beside his chair and then walks over and slides the door open and then steps to the side, extending an arm to motion to Baekhyun to walk through first.

The music is still playing inside, louder than Baekhyun thought it had been, and he waves goodbye to Chanyeol when Chanyeol starts descending the stairs, tossing a "see ya later, Baekhyun," over his shoulder. Baekhyun stays in the hallway for a moment longer, watching Chanyeol until he rounds the corner and heads into the living room, out of Baekhyun's line of sight, and then he goes downstairs as well.

He walks outside, fully intending to leave with Kyungsoo, certain that his roommate is with Jongin somewhere, but he finds the younger man bent over beside one of the trees in the yard, one hand braced against the bark. It's not hard to tell that he's vomiting, quite loudly seeing as how Baekhyun can hear him from the front door.

The guy who had welcomed them when they first arrived—Jongin, Baekhyun is still assuming—is standing beside him, rubbing at his back. He looks up in time to see Baekhyun and waves him over.

"How much did he have to drink?" Baekhyun asks as he walks over to them. He can see that the base of the tree trunk is covered in Kyungsoo's puke, and he has to fight not to gag himself.

"A lot," Jongin says. As Baekhyun gets closer he can see that Jongin is drunk, too. "I was gonna take him back to your dorm but I'm—well, as you can see," he makes a vague hand gesture at himself, "I'm not exactly in the condition to be driving."

Baekhyun offers him a smile, wrapping an arm around Kyungsoo's waist to keep him on his feet. "Thanks for being responsible," he says honestly.

Kyungsoo makes a pathetic noise before trying to stand upright, wobbling a little. "He takes such good care of me," he tells Baekhyun, words slurring together.

"I can see that," Baekhyun says. "Come on, let's get you home."

"Can you drive?" Jongin asks. "I can call one of my friends to take you both back to your dorm if you're—"

"I didn't drink," Baekhyun says.

"But I gave you a beer—" Kyungsoo starts to say before he cuts himself off with a dry heave.

"I didn't drink," Baekhyun repeats, rubbing a hand along Kyungsoo's back as the man's stomach tries to expel contents it doesn't have. It seems like he's puked up everything he had so Baekhyun doesn't think he'll have to worry about Kyungsoo puking in the car. "Thanks again," he says, looking at Jongin.

Jongin waves his hand like he's brushing the gratitude off. "I hope you had fun," he says. "Make sure you two get home safe."

"I will."

Baekhyun helps Kyungsoo stand upright, letting him lean against him for support as he walks them over to their car. He digs around in Kyungsoo's pockets until he finds the keys and then he helps him get buckled into the passenger seat. Kyungsoo doesn't fight him as he brings the seatbelt across his chest and lap and fastens it, and when Baekhyun looks at his face he's pretty sure Kyungsoo is asleep. He sighs, closing the door and walking around to the driver's side.

The drive back to the dorm is quiet aside from Kyungsoo's mumbling in his sleep. Baekhyun shakes him away once he's pulled the car into Kyungsoo's parking spot, unfastening the drunk man's seatbelt for him. He helps Kyungsoo get to their dorm room, and Kyungsoo stumbles over to his bed without Baekhyun's help and tosses himself down on it, not even bothering the get under the covers or take his shoes off before he's asleep again.

Baekhyun sets the keys down on Kyungsoo's bedside table and slips his own shoes off. He doesn't change before he gets under his blankets, but he doesn't fall asleep right away. He fiddles around on his phone for a while and contemplates texting Chanyeol, but decides against it and finally plugs his phone into its charger and places it on his nightstand. He burrows under his blankets and closes his eyes, trying to motivate himself to sleep but he can't, and so he tosses and turns for a while until his phone suddenly vibrates, the screen lighting up. He reaches for it and feels giddy and absolutely ridiculous when he sees what the screen says.

_Chanyeol 5:37 am  
hi i hope you got home safe! sleep well and sweet dreams c: _

Of _course_ Chanyeol uses smileys. Baekhyun has to bite back his own smile at how adorable that is as he types back his response: _I did, thanks. I'll talk to you tomorrow, goodnight!_

Chanyeol responds not even thirty seconds later with a bunch of emojis, and Baekhyun buries his face in his pillow at how absolutely _adorable_ that is. He feels like he should probably be worried about the fact that he thinks Chanyeol is cute, but he figures he can worry about it later. Despite how giddy and happy he feels, sleep comes surprisingly fast for him, and soon he is snoring softly, phone slipping out of his hand and onto the space of mattress beside him.


End file.
